Many devices have been developed for use by tactical teams of police departments, for aiding police officers in certain situations. A number of such devices have been developed to aid the officers in gaining entry into buildings and other structures and particularly occupied buildings. In recent years, a great need has developed for devices which would enable rapid breaching of doors, gates and similar barriers.
While many devices have been developed for these purposes, they have met with varying degrees of success for a variety of reasons. For example, while some devices will satisfactorily function to breach a door, they are more in the nature of hand tools meaning that they take longer to operate. The longer that the device takes to breach the door, the greater is the risk to the officers involved.
Other devices are more in the nature of explosive type devices which function by an explosive charge to destroy a lock, a hinge, or both. Again, while such devices operate more quickly, the explosive type of device can pose a risk to both the officers using the device and to the occupants of the structure. For example, an explosive charge can injure anyone close to the charge when it is detonated. Similarly, the use of shotguns is possible for breaching a hinge, a lock, or the like, but this also poses a great risk to occupants of the structure.
More recently, special ammunition has been developed for breaching such structures. Such ammunition is available under the trademarks "SHOK LOCK" or "AVON" and is designed with a frangible "projectile" which disintegrates on impact, but which imparts a great amount of force to the target upon disintegration. The ammunition is typically designed for use with shotguns, and in general the "projectile" comprises a mixture of a material such as dental plaster mixed with metal powder which is molded to the shape of a projectile and placed into a shotgun shell.
In use, the ammunition is loaded into the gun, aimed at the target, and is discharged. The force of the "projectile" is intended to breach a hinge, lock, etc. and to disintegrate while imparting the force to the target. In this manner, only a small amount of debris, primarily dust, enters the structure, while the door, lock, gate, etc. is essentially destroyed.
Such ammunition is, however, somewhat unreliable in many applications, and is not always consistent in function. For example, the distance between the muzzle of the shotgun and the target can make a great difference in the breaching force created when the weapon is discharged, as can the angle of impact. A ninety degree angle of incidence usually creates a greater amount of force than any lesser angle.
In the past, applicant developed an improved flash suppressor which relied upon smoothbore technology to provide significant benefits to the flash suppressor. This technology is described in applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,529 dated Feb. 18, 1986. The present invention relies upon the technology described in that patent, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a device for use with frangible ammunition for improving the reliability thereof in tactical use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device for use with shotguns using frangible ammunition for improving the safety of the ammunition to the user and others nearby.
A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment for shotguns which greatly improves the usefulness of the frangible ammunition in tactical situations.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an attachment for firearms which uses the technology of smoothbore barrels and provides a dual function of inhibiting flash from the muzzle and enabling the use of the firearm for repeated discharge of frangible ammunition with greatly improved reliability.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a flash suppressor for firearms, including shotguns and rifled barrel weapons, and which enables the muzzle end of the firearm to be placed against a target and, using frangible ammunition, to breach a door, lock, gate, or similar such barrier with greatly enhanced reliability and safety to all persons in the vicinity.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide an attachment for firearm barrels, such as rifles and shotguns, which increases the muzzle velocity of the projectile, and therefor the force imparted by the projectile.